Indonesian Muslims Protest Plans to Burn Quran

[bonnie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100909/wl_afp/usattacksreligionislam_20100909104714

Quote:

Officials in the small university town of Gainesville -- reluctantly dragged into the global spotlight -- met Wednesday to draw up contingency plans.

City spokesman Bob Woods told AFP that church officials would be violating a ban on open-air burning and would be subject to a 250 dollar fine if they set fire to the books.

But there is little they can do to stop the event from going ahead, protected as it is by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, guaranteeing freedom of speech.

Fire authorities turned down an application a few weeks ago from Jones to hold the ceremony, and police cannot intervene until they actually light the Korans.

I bet the city spokesman would be surprised to learn that by recognizing the pastor's right to do this under freedom of speech is agreeing with the pastor.

Nothing here says that book burning has been banned.

[Dr. Shane]

Quote:

Nothing here says that book burning has been banned.

Difiant Florida Church Says Koran Burning...

Quote:

City spokesman Bob Woods told AFP that church officials would be violating a ban on open-air burning and would be subject to a 250 dollar fine if they set fire to the books.

In earlier reports it sounded like the City had banned burning books in general.

Church Denied Permit For Quran Burning

Quote:

Gainesville officials say book burnings like the one planned by the Dove World Outreach Center are prohibited under the city's burning ordinance.

If it is just a ban on open-air burning, that is certainly Constitutional. If it is a ban on book burning, than it becomes a Constitutional question.

[Dr. Shane]

Fla. minister cancels burning of Qurans on 9/11

Quote:

The leader of a tiny church on Thursday backed off his threat to burn the Quran, saying he gave up the plan in exchange for a deal to move a planned Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center, however, quickly denied any such deal.

[SivartM]

I'm guessing that this was the plan all along. He just wanted to draw a lot of attention so that he could try to keep Park51 from being built. Now we're all supposed to praise his wisdom. Of course, nobody's going to keep the center from being built, not Donald Trump or some terrorist group in Florida.

[Dr. Shane]

Well, I am not much for conspiracy theories but I found it odd that this pastor with a congregation of 40 people got much media attention at all. Someone obviously wanted to make a big story out of this. A lot of networks raked in a lot of ratings off this story. The story, in my opinion, shouldn't have even made the headlines in the local paper.

[bonnie]

I'm guessing that this was the plan all along. He just wanted to draw a lot of attention so that he could try to keep Park51 from being built. Now we're all supposed to praise his wisdom. Of course, nobody's going to keep the center from being built, not Donald Trump or some terrorist group in Florida.

Given that donations are pretty slim Park 51 may very well not be built.I don't know that you are required to praise the pastor's wisdom.

However I am still waiting for serious numbers of the peaceful followers of Islam to make themselves heard.

We know that militant followers are dismissed as only a few. While thousands burn our flag ,threaten to kill americans,throw a hizzy fit over some cartoons,behead those that really any them,call for the author of a book to be killed,dance in the streets as the towers were burning etc. Christians have stood up and denounced the planned burning of the Quran.

I would be delighted to see the predominantly peacefull portion of this religion be as vocal in protesting barbaric behavior. Just as vocal as the christians they are threatening to kill.

[bonnie]

Well, I am not much for conspiracy theories but I found it odd that this pastor with a congregation of 40 people got much media attention at all. Someone obviously wanted to make a big story out of this. A lot of networks raked in a lot of ratings off this story. The story, in my opinion, shouldn't have even made the headlines in the local paper.

What is odd about the attention given to someone that publically offends the sensibilities of the followers of Islam.

Had this been planned against any US mainstream religion it would have been a fast blip and gone

[Dr. Shane]

Could the media have ignored Terry Jones and his Koran-burning plan?

Quote:

But as news of the Koran burning circled the globe during the past week, so did questions about the role of the media in fanning the controversy.

US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton this week rapped the media for giving the Rev. Mr. Jones attention and suggested the media “ignore” his actions on Sept. 11. Deepak Chopra, author of the forthcoming book “Muhammad,” says in an e-mail: "The media has a responsibility to not contribute to rage and possible violence by not making a global phenomenon of what could have been a nonevent by an unimportant pastor."

...With religious issues at the heart of so many hot-button topics – particularly during an election cycle – media coverage of religious issues is critical, he says. The real question is: Are the editors who make these decisions about what to cover learning more about the context, perspective, and history that will lead to a better understanding of what is behind stories like Jones?

“Far from avoiding these stories, we should learn about how to be better about how we do cover them,” he adds.

Context and perspective are not new to journalism, points out Hank Klibanoff, a journalism professor at Emory University in Atlanta and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. But given the speed and breadth of information today, the media in all its old and new forms must make concentrated efforts to achieve what he calls “proportionality.” Journalism by its nature focuses on the extreme, the unusual, and the interesting without necessarily painting in the background context.

[bonnie]

US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton this week rapped the media for giving the Rev. Mr. Jones attention and suggested the media “ignore” his actions on Sept. 11. Deepak Chopra, author of the forthcoming book “Muhammad,” says in an e-mail: "The media has a responsibility to not contribute to rage and possible violence by not making a global phenomenon of what could have been a nonevent by an unimportant pastor."

I don't understand the fear of rage and possible violence.

[bonnie]

Westboro Baptist Church to burn Qurans if Dove doesn't

By Chad Smith

Staff writer

Published: Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 2:42 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 5:20 p.m.

Westboro Baptist Church, the small Topeka, Kan., church that pickets funerals of American soldiers to spread its message that God is punishing the country for being tolerant of homosexuals, has vowed to hold a Quran burning if Gainesville's Dove World Outreach Center calls its off.

WBC burned the Koran once – and if you sissy brats of Doomed america bully Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center until they change their plans to burn that blasphemous tripe called the Koran, then WBC will burn it (again), to clearly show you some things," the church announced in a news release this week.

And Jones in the last day has indicated some reluctance to burn the Muslim holy book.

The Canadian Press reported Thursday that in an interview with a Canadian radio station, Jones said the church was considering calling it off.

"We are very much in prayer about it. There is the possibility, of course, that we will not do it," Jones was quoted as saying.

He told a group of reporters Wednesday that he planned to burn at least one copy of the Quran.

Dove World is one of the few groups to join forces with Westboro members, who have protested at funerals across the country.

In April, a handful of Westboro members picketed outside of the University of Florida Hillel, the Jewish student center, and Trinity United Methodist Church, and Jones and about 30 members of his congregation joined the WBC members outside of Trinity United.

While officials from President Barack Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have condemned Jones' plan, Fox News reported Thursday that a White House spokesman said the administration is considering contacting Jones to urge him to call it off.